|
5 pairs of tickets to give away to the John McCormack Gala Tribute
Concert in Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, December 17
Click at the end of the page to enter compettions
Tell a
Friend about this competition
Absolutely Live Entertainment & Zampano
Productions proudly present
Icon of an Age: A John McCormack Gala Tribute Concert
Wednesday, December 17, 8PM Carnegie Hall
 “Before Elvis, before Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby, there was John
Count McCormack. Born in 1884 in Athlone - the heart of Ireland,
McCormack would go on to capture the hearts and minds of millions
throughout the world. He was the pop idol of his time, selling millions
of records to an insatiable public and it would be America where his
star shined brightest.”
New York, NY – Absolutely Live Entertainment and Zampano Productions
will present Icon of an Age: A John McCormack Gala Tribute Concert
on Wednesday, December 17 at 8 pm at
Carnegie Hall, located at
57th Street & 7th Avenue in New York City.
Tickets: $45, $55, $70, $90 will go on sale on Friday, October 17 at
11AM at
www.carnegiehall.org, by calling Carnegie Charge at 212-247-7800 or
at the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th Street and 7th Avenue.
This unique evening will feature Tony Award winning tenor, Alfie Boe (La
Boheme), the 2007 Maria Callas Grand Prix winner, Irish soprano
Celine Byrne, premier violin soloist Gregory Harrington, and a 28-piece
orchestra conducted by Robert Houlihan. Rare film footage of McCormack
in performance will be screened.
The program will showcase Opera, Art Song, Religious music, Popular
Ballads and Irish Songs made popular by John McCormack.
John McCormack is regarded today as one of the finest concert
recitalists of the 20th century, performing to record audiences, which
on one occasion measured approximately one million people. His recording
career lasted thirty-eight years, from 1904 to 1942, when he produced
one of the most extensive discographies of the century – more than eight
hundred records in all. To have a 'McCormack Red Seal record was as
usual in the average American home, during the second and third decades
of the century,’ wrote the American critic Max de Schauensee, ‘as
father’s slippers by the fire or the family ice-cream freezer.’ He was
quite simply a phenomenon of his times, with over 200 million record
sales attributed to him. To underline his greatness, in 2006 The Library
of Congress declared his 1916 recording of Mozart’s ‘il mio tesoro’ one
of the greatest of the 20th century. This recording, widely regarded as
the definitive version of the aria, has now been archived for posterity.
 John McCormack is largely seen today as a purveyor of Irish ballads and
popular song. It is true that he became greatly loved, so much of an
icon to Irish emigrants with their troubled history because of his
exquisite ability to convey melancholy tinged with tenderness. In song
and ballad he expressed the truth that tears lie at the heart of things.
McCormack’s lasting success is based on his broad appeal and his unique
ability to combine serious and popular music. Confounding his critics
with the breadth of his repertoire, his performances would include
popular songs and Irish ballads in addition to opera, oratorio, lieder,
17th and 18th century music and art song. John McCormack is widely
acknowledged to have been the 20th century’s greatest exponent of Handel
and Mozart’s music. Sadly this part of his legacy is often overlooked.
When America entered WWI McCormack met with President Wilson and
offered his services in anyway his adopted country desired (In 1919 John
McCormack became an American citizen). He was told that he’d be more
valuable in America “keeping the fountains of sentiment flowing”.
McCormack accomplished this by arranging a tour of America, at his own
expense, to aid the American Red Cross. He also organized a charity
concert at the New York Hippodrome to help British tubercular soldiers.
He raised £76,000 for that cause alone. Three of his songs became a
staple of the soldiers play list – “God Be With Our Boys Tonight”,
“Pershing’s Men Go Marching into Picardy” and “Mother Machree”. He
allocated royalties from the first two songs to war charities. In the
following years he would confirm his status as one of the greatest
artists of the 20th Century, and become an American legend.
In 2006 Zampano Productions staged the ‘John McCormack: Icon of an
Age’ concert in the National Concert Hall, Dublin to great success. The
concert celebrated the tenor’s life and explored the diversity and
richness of McCormack’s musical legacy. Following this event the
critically acclaimed DVD box set John McCormack, Icon Of An Age, was
released, which includes the documentary, The People’s Tenor.
Additionally, the IAWS John McCormack Bursary was established, becoming
one of the most valuable vocal bursaries in Europe. In 2008, a McCormack
statue was erected in Dublin as a tribute to the great Irish legend and
The People’s Tenor was released in the U.S. by Kultur.
The latest chapter in this journey of rediscovery is the staging of this
concert at
Carnegie Hall, a venue dear to McCormack’s heart, in a city
that embraced him as he embraced it.
Click here to
enter this competition
|
